Val Lewton: Man In The Shadows

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Val Lewton: Man In The Shadows
Topic Started: Mar 3 2008, 04:36 PM (186 Views)
Laughing Gravy	Mar 3 2008, 04:36 PM Post #1
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,062 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	Val Lewton: Man in the Shadows (Warners, $19.98) is a new documentary from Martin Scorsese on the legendary B-movie producer who turned out a series of highly regarded (and for the most part highly profitable) horror films for RKO in the 1940s, including The Cat People, The Leopard Man, I Walked with a Zombie, The Bodysnatcher, and Curse of the Cat People, amongst others. The documentary's been airing on TCM along the Lewton films, and I went into it thinking it was going to be rather dull, but on the contrary it sheds a lot of light into the darkness that was Lewton. The documentary is available separately or as a bonus in the newly reissued Val Lewton DVD collection from Warner Bros.



igsjr	Mar 3 2008, 04:44 PM Post #2
Nostalgia blogger Posts: 1,228 Group: Members Member #40 Joined: September 7, 2005	How does Man in the Shadows compare with TCM's previous Lewton doc (paired with The Seventh Victim in the original box set), Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy? If it covers different ground I might have to snag a copy.
	"Life is in color--but black-and-white is more realistic..." -- Samuel Fuller, director So many DVDs...so little time...


Chandu	Oct 31 2008, 11:25 AM Post #3
Knowledge Seeker and rascal at large Posts: 10,266 Group: Members Member #297 Joined: October 19, 2007	I watched this last night and now I finally know who to blame, after 54 years, for one of, if not my worst movie disappointment. I was probably about the 8th grade and looked forward all week to seeing The Cat People, advertised as a scary movie by our local forerunner of Elvira, hosting the weekend midnight movie slot on our local TV channel. As I recall, I opted out of going out somewhere I'd have enjoyed that night, to stay home and watch Cat People too! When the show finally came on, I'd made some Jiffy-Pop popcorn and settled back to watch and be scared to death. To this day, I don't know what the attraction between teenagers and scary movies is, but there certainly seems to be one! Anyway, there I was waiting to be scared, and I kept waiting and waiting and waiting and it never happened. I thought Cat People was one of the dumbest movies I ever saw, and it ticked me off so bad that even today I wouldn't bother rewatching it, even after learning it was mistitled and wasn't supposed to be necessarily scary.
	Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...


igsjr	Oct 31 2008, 03:31 PM Post #4
Nostalgia blogger Posts: 1,228 Group: Members Member #40 Joined: September 7, 2005	You never jumped when that bus pulled up aside Jane Randolph? Jee-bus, I've lost count of how many times I've seen Cat People and that scene jolts me every time.
	"Life is in color--but black-and-white is more realistic..." -- Samuel Fuller, director So many DVDs...so little time...


Chandu	Oct 31 2008, 05:51 PM Post #5
Knowledge Seeker and rascal at large Posts: 10,266 Group: Members Member #297 Joined: October 19, 2007	Yes, I'm sure I probably did, as I recognized the scene when it was shown in the documentary, but one momentary startle didn't make up for the rest of the film.
	Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...


igsjr	Oct 31 2008, 10:26 PM Post #6
Nostalgia blogger Posts: 1,228 Group: Members Member #40 Joined: September 7, 2005	Well, there's also the scene where Randolph's in the swimming pool, with all the shadows and mysterious animal noises. I don't want to belabor the point (I really just wanted to mention the swimming pool sequence, which I left out of the last post) but my favorite kind of horror movie is the kind that messes with my mind...which People has in spades. (Hell. I'm creeped out when Elizabeth Russell addresses Simone Simon as "Moya sestra...")
	"Life is in color--but black-and-white is more realistic..." -- Samuel Fuller, director So many DVDs...so little time...


Chandu	Nov 1 2008, 11:40 AM Post #7
Knowledge Seeker and rascal at large Posts: 10,266 Group: Members Member #297 Joined: October 19, 2007	I understand what you're saying, but I was barely a teen when I saw it an' I was cravin' some action! That imaginative stuff just didn't cut it for me then. I think I remember a scene with some rustling sounds, the wind whistling and somemore shadows as someone walks beside a high hedge with trees on the other side too, when you just knew a dangerous cat of some sort was about to pounce on the hapless soul, but alas, just as in the swimming pool scene, nothing happens. I'm not denying it may be a good film, I was just so bitterly disappointed it when was misrepresented to me as a teen, which made me expect so much more. Since it was such a huge disappointment once, I'm just unwilling to give it a second chance. I'm not usually that hard-headed, but that particular recollection still stands out vividly in my memory, for some reason.
	Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...


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